


Getting Stronger

by TokyoTeddyWolf



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Au where shiro is the only human, Because shiro and lance dont even meet until like chapter 10 i think, Krolia raised Keith with the blade, Lance is a dragon fight me, M/M, Matt and Sam are Alteans, Personality differences but only slightly, Pidge has been searching for her fam for a while, Shiro is still captured sorry, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-15 20:16:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16070510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TokyoTeddyWolf/pseuds/TokyoTeddyWolf
Summary: AU where only Shiro is a human, Lance is a dragon (Hyphilian), Hunk is a mix of Puigan and Balmeran, Pidge is an Altean, and Keith was raised in the Blade of Marmora.In my defense I was bored and left unsupervised.





	1. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of it all.

_"Come to me, my little one. The universe depends on it... find me..."_  
  
Lance hummed idly as he sat on the edge of the beach, tail swishing behind him as the sun set, coloring the sky a pretty orange teal color. He could hear his mother and nestmates chattering away inside the nest, but he felt no need to join them.  
  
The sea lapped at his claws, and he fluttered his wings lightly at the sensation. Others often teased him for liking the water, among other things. The fading sunlight glinted off of his blue scales, light and dark gleaming in a mix of patterns along his lithe body. Eyes as blue as the ocean scanned the waves for something unnamed, but upon finding nothing, closed as he sighed.  
  
He'd hoped to find the source of whatever had been calling out to him these past few months, but found nothing. Not even during his underwater escapades that his mother often scolded him for.  
  
He was a Hyphilian, not a fish. He was supposed to stay on dry land where he belonged, and not out nearly drowning himself for fun.  
  
Though he had often pointed out that water didn't seem to make his feathers heavy at all, nor dull his scales. In fact, he often felt a lot better after a swim or a dive. She had accounted it as a rush making his brain mushy. He was still a youngling by her standards, being the runt of her egg clutch. He doubted she'd ever see him as anything but the runt.  
  
He had often wondered if being the runt was why he had blue scales, a color so rare it was thought erased from the gene pool. The reason it had been erased was because it was a _wrong_ color. So, he often grew up bullied, everyone taking a chance to try and mess up his feathers or damage his scales for fun. His only escape had been the ocean.  
  
A chirping howl echoed behind him, and he sighed. Looks like he'd been caught. He got up and shook the sand from his body, turning to trot towards his family nest.  
  
He was greeted by his sister Veronica, her gold scales shining pink in the sun's rapidly disappearing light.  
  
"She really hates you going out there. You know that, yet you still find a way to escape her eyes." She said, clearly amused by the way she held her wings a little off of her back.  
  
Lance sighed. "She only hates it because I'm the runt and the water is what drowned uncle Akani a few decades ago."  
  
Veronica purred soothingly and brushed her wing with his as they made their way inside. "That's true, but she also loves you very much. She's proud of your blue scales, so are the rest of us, and it only adds to her protectiveness."  
  
Lance gave his sister a wry smile. "Thanks, Veri. Well, better go see what Mom wants. Hope it's not another lecture." He groaned, before moving towards his mother's room.  
  
Sure enough, his mother looked five seconds away from hurling a fireball at him, her silver and gold scales glowing faintly from the light pulsing in her throat.  
  
"I didn't go in the water this time, I swear!" Lance yelped, tail curling up towards his face instinctively.  
  
The light died down, but he was stuck there for nearly three hours while she yelled at him for being so reckless. She then sent him to bed without dinner. Again.  
  
It was nearly moon high when Lance woke up with a snarling stomach and the echo of a forgotten dream. Creatures he'd never seen before, and a gleaming white castle, and the roar of an animal he couldn't identify.  
  
He attributed it to being hungry as he slept.  
  
Slipping from his nest, he quietly made his way towards the food storage, hoping for some fish.  
  
Nudging open the cooling unit, he nearly hissed when he saw there were no fish in sight.  
  
Then a thought occured to him.  
  
The ocean was right outside, and he'd caught his own fish before, so why not go hunting? He couldn't always rely on his hatchers, his mother had told him when he was being greedy.  
  
His mind made up, he made his way outside, careful not to make the bell above the doorway jingle, and padded across the stone path that led down to the beach.  
  
His tail swished behind him, erasing his pawprints and clawmarks in the sand as he headed for the sea. As a race of element breathers, he could hold his breath for a very long time, and oddly enough, longer than any of his nestmates.  
  
He walked slowly into the sea until he was neck deep, his wings shivering silently at the contact of the cold water, and dove.  
  
His eyes open for any prey, he swam forward, using a combination of his wings and legs to paddle his way down. The coral reef shone silver and blue, refecting the light coming from his scales as he swam, looking for a suitable enough fish to eat.  
  
There! By a cove he'd never seen before, a school of dinakers were feeding on a barrier of kelp surrouding the entrance to an underwater cave.  
  
He shot forward instantly, mouth open and grabbing the first one he could sink his teeth into, one the size of a flight feather. The rest scattered, and he pulled his catch into the cave in order to get some air while he ate.  
  
Once he'd finished, he set about cleaning his face, using his tail like a wipe in order to get the remaining bits of fish off.  
  
_"Come to me..."_  
  
He jolted to his feet, head swiveling to find the source. That voice was the same one he'd been hearing call out to him these past few months, and he'd never heard it sound so close before.  
  
A pale blue glow was coming from one of the tunnels. It was too small to follow in his large form, but seemed big enough to allow his smaller form through.  
  
Lance rather liked his smaller form. It was quite useful, unless he was under attack. It was also pretty, not as blue as his large form.  
  
Seeing no other option, he sighed and began the painful process of shrinking himself, bones creaking and muscles shuddering as his magic slowly began restructuring his body until all that was left was a bright speck of light, his core, that flared out and snapped him into his small form.  
  
All of this happened in less than a minute, but it still hurt.  
  
He stretched his arms over his short brown hair, trying to readjust to his two legged form. He ran his hands over his legs and arms, smooth tan skin with blue scales over the sensitive parts, fluffy wings against his back, and the clothes he'd been wearing when he last changed. Part of the magic was keeping your clothes, something he'd had to learn early as a hatchling.  
  
Settled, he made for the tunnel. The blue glow seemed to brighten the further he went, until he found himself heading upwards, blue patterns coating the walls along his way.  
  
Surprisingly, he didn't feel scared or nervous, but more excited with the anticipation of finding something nice.  
  
He found a sharp curve against the wall, and followed it into a cave.  
  
He was met with the source of the blue glow.  
  
A giant robot, something similar to his large form, but without wings and with rounded ears on top of its head. A barrier was erected around it, and he moved towards it without thinking.  
  
There was no sign of the person calling him. Maybe they were inside?  
  
Cautiously, he gently rapped his knuckles against the barrier. "Hello?"  
  
The barrier vanished in a spray of sparks, a vision filling his head of robots, a castle, a planet, and the echo of a deafening roar in his ears.  
  
He gasped, staring up at the now active lion.  
  
She rose up on all four feet, bending her head down to greet him.  
  
_"Hello, my Paladin."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might as well roll with this for as long as I can.


	2. Family Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Priorites are sorted out.  
> Also, siblings are great! Most times.

"Lance? Lance. _Lanceric!_ "  
  
The sound of his older brother's voice snapped Lance out of his trance, and he glanced up to see Marco's worried gaze focused on him.  
  
"Lance, you've been spacing out all day. What's eating at you, hatchling?" His brother asked, settling down next to him in the garden.  
  
It was a warm day, perfect for managing the farm. The vegetables and fruit grew in tandem, for a sweeter taste. As omnivores, Hyphilians had figured out farming as the best way to gain resources during hard times. It had never really gone out of practice, so most families had gardens to span half of their territories.  
  
"Marc, if someone told you to go find this person you've never seen before, telling you that it was important for the universe, would you go?" Lance questioned him quietly, resting his head on his front claws.  
  
"Depends on who's asking. Did someone say something to you, Lance?" He asked curiously, draping a black wing over Lance's body.  
  
"Did you know we have a giant robot hiding in one of the sea caves?" He blurted out, lifting his head to stare at his black scaled nestmate.  
  
"You went to the sea _again?!?_ " Marco responded, glaring at him.  
  
Lance groaned. "Was that the _only_ thing you heard?!?"  
  
"Dude, you know mom hates you going out there! You could drown!" Marco hissed, feathery tail lashing in agitation.  
  
"So I've been told! Many times! But there's a giant robot down there, a sentient robot, and it wants me to go find this giant space castle and more robots!" Lance retorted, digging his claws into the ground.  
  
"It wants you to _what?!?_ No! Lance, Mom would shed a pile of feathers and file her teeth down before she let you go gallivanting off into fucking _outer space!_ " Marco said, eyes wide.  
  
"Who would care besides you guys, Marco?! Everybody else on this stupid planet hates me! Aunt Emi even said I'd never get a mate with scales like mine, and I'm restricted in everything I do! I'm not even allowed out into the more populated markets because you guys are all afraid I'll get killed! The only things I can do here are tending to the farm and going on hunts! At least if I go out to space, I might find a bigger purpose meant for me than just farming or hunting!" Lance ranted in a low growl, tail twitching back and forth in irritation.  
  
Marco was silent, staring at his brother.  
  
"We might as well let him go, Marco. He'd run off to do it anyways, goodbye said or not." A new voice joined in calmly, a violet colored Hyphilian making her way towards them.  
  
"Rachel." Lance said with a sigh, glad to see his sister. She and him had hatched at nearly the same time, her just a few seconds before him. As such, nobody knew him better than her, having grown up together in the same clutch.  
  
"Rae, no, we _can't!_ Think of Mom!" Marco said, eyes wide.  
  
Rachel's wings shifted against her back as she gave Marco a sad look.  
  
"Lance has a point. No matter how hard we try, we can't pretend that he wasn't born unlucky. The rest of society is too prejudiced, and Lance has been breaking unsaid rules since that day he hatched. Loving water, swimming, blue scales, preferring the sea to the sky, and even the way he acts is all different from the rest of the world. He hasn't fit in here, but if he says that there could be something waiting for him in space, then if there's a chance for him to be truly happy out there, I want him to go find it. Don't you?" She said to her brothers, smiling.  
  
She continued, ignoring how Marco went quiet to think, and turned to her twin. "Mom will understand, but I think it's best you let us tell her what happened. _After_ you leave, of course, because she'd track you down and try to keep you home forever. By then, something bad could happen that you might have been able to prevent."  
  
Lance grinned and got to his feet. "Rae, you are the best nestmate ever. I'll leave tonight, around moonrise, that way I can get out relatively unnoticed." He said, padding forward to brush her muzzle with his own.  
  
Marco sighed. "Fine. But me and Rae are going to see you off, okay? And help you pack. You're going to need provisions wherever you go. And clothes! Nowhere else has places big enough for us normally. You'll need to be in small form all the time, but don't forget to stretch out in your large form from time to time, okay?" He scolded, hatcher instinct already prominent in him.  
  
Lance laughed and went over to nuzzle his brother as well. "Okay."  
  
The day went by quickly, and before he knew it, Rachel was at his door nudging him awake, both Hyphilians slipping outside to the ocean where three other figures waited.  
  
"Veronica? Luis? What are you two doing here?" Lance asked, surprised at his other two nestmates.  
  
Luis snorted, silver scales especially bright in the light of the two moons. "You really thought you could leave without us knowing? Brat, you should have told us. As if we wouldn't support our hatchling brother, no matter the craziness." The eldest said, smirking.  
  
Veronica whacked Luis with her tail. "You didn't have to say that so harshly, Lu. We wanted to say goodbye." She told Lance, reaching forwards to nuzzle her little brother.  
  
Earlier in the day, while Rachel had distracted their mother, Lance had swum all of his packed items to Blue's cove, loading them into her in preparation to leave. All that was left was to say goodbye.  
  
"You better come back to us in one piece, alright? Don't go missing a wing on us." Marco said as the nestmates closed in for a group hug.  
  
"Make sure you eat and drink plenty of water! Dehydration is worse than starvation!" Rachel added in her two scales.  
  
"Groom whenever you can. Your flight will be affected if your wings are messy, and sharpen your claws every day!" Veronica fussed.  
  
"Find someone who makes you happy and keep them close. And maybe bring back a mate? Preferrably a cute one." Luis said, making Lance groan in embarrassment.  
  
"Okay, okay, enough sap, I gotta go before you all keep me here 'til sunrise." Lance whined, trying not to cry.  
  
"Oh, and we got you a present. It's a necklace of our feathers, plus one of Mom's and... it was hard to find, but we got one of Dad's too. It's enchanted so that it will shrink and grow with your forms." Veronica said, draping the light metal ring around Lance's neck.  
  
The feathers of gold, silver, violet, black, and silvery gold brushed against his chest, a vibrant deep blue feather larger than the rest in the center. One of Lance's feathers was on there too, and it filled his chest with warmth as he gazed at it.  
  
"You guys... damn, I said to myself that I wasn't going to cry, but here I am crying." He sniffled, water leaking down his scales.  
  
His nestmates laughed and pressed in closer, Lance's eyes not the only one wet.  
  
"Bye, guys. I promise I'll come home someday." Lance said, and with a wave of his tail, he entered the ocean.  
  
He swam for Blue's cove, shrinking down and patting off the clothes he'd chosen to wear for the trip.  
  
A green jacket with slits for his wings in the back, designed to keep his body warm, a regular silver and blue shirt, some comfort pants with pockets and his usual all-terrain boots. The necklace settled comfortably against his chest as he made for the Blue Lion, as she called herself.  
  
The connection between them was an interesting thing, like a constant song of the ocean was playing in his mind, mixed with her quiet purrs and occasional yawn.  
  
Now she was practically motoring in excitement, her rumbling having been growing louder in his mind as the night drew closer. Now he could feel the ground vibrating with her purrs.  
  
She bent down and opened her mouth, allowing him inside once more. He made for the pilot's chair, sitting down as she rose on all fours in preparation for takeoff.  
  
"Okay lovely, you're going to have to help me out on this, because I have no idea how you work." Lance muttered.  
  
An invisible, comforting force, like the sea current, guided his hands for the thrusters. The current kept guiding him as he powered her up, and she _roared_.  
  
A grin split his face as he charged her upwards, soaring into the sky and doing a few flips for fun before she guided him towards the endless sea of stars.  
  
She tugged at his magic and opened a wormhole, something he'd only heard of in old stories when the Hyphilians had been a spacefaring species.  
  
They soared through, leaving his home behind, and four Hyphilians watched them go, wondering how they were going to explain this to their mother.  
  
She had already lost their father, and now the youngest of her clutch was gone.  
  
They all prayed that Lance would come home safe, and more importantly, happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'll continue this story! I love dragon Lance too much to say no. See if you can guess who will be next! Hint: more Lions :3


	3. Yellow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk makes what he hopes isn't a big mistake.

For once, digging wasn't going so well for Hunk.  
  
The Galra had been getting more forceful with their demands lately, ever since the day they found the weird blocked off tunnel full of markings. The elders were refusing to tell the young ones exactly what they meant, but Hunk had caught whispers of a "Voltron Lion", like in the stories he'd heard as a child.  
  
If it was true, then the giant rock in his way was hiding a big robot lion strong enough to bowl over even a Weblum.  
  
But the rock just wouldn't yield to his claws no matter how hard he tried to dig. He wondered if it was even a rock at all, all hard and shiny like a crystal, yet pitch black like a Galran ship.  
  
He wiped the dust from his face and frowned. As of late, he'd been hearing a low rumble that wasn't from the Balmera herself, nor from the mining machines all over the place. It was even in his dreams! The worst part was that nobody else could hear it, just him. When he'd asked, he'd get remarks from the others that it was just the Galra or the Balmera groaning.  
  
He knew the difference between the two sounds, he'd grown up hearing them often enough for him to tell the difference from a screeching drill to the Balmera's mournful death cries. This was a rumble that warned of danger, the very picture of a pissed off animal warning an enemy to _back off_ or be attacked without mercy.  
  
Hunk was positive the source was behind this stupid rock. He just had to figure put how to get in without the Galra noticing. The soil shifted, and he spied an opening near the corner of the rock and the wall.  
  
Perfect! He set to work digging the hole wider, hoping to squeeze his large frame through. Just a bit more, and he was in. The tunnel wouldn't be noticed this late past curfew, and he could be in and out before anyone knew what happened.  
  
"Woah... this is..." He gasped, walking through a cave full of markings that were steadily getting brighter and brighter in a color lighter than the gold of a Balmeran's eyes.  
  
He followed the markings, the tunnel not dug but rather naturally formed, and found himself going down. Further and further, the air growing warmer with the heat of the Balmera's heart. The markings seemed to pulse almost welcomingly, warm and almost like a dream from something he'd lost before he'd even known it existed.  
  
He entered a cave pocket. Here, the rumbling had softened when he'd entered. Less angry and more cheerful. Happy. To see him? He didn't know.  
  
What he did know, was that a Lion of Voltron was a lot bigger than he first thought. It towered over him, surrounded in a golden particle barrier, huge and bulky and _beautiful_.  
  
He walked towards it, in total awe of its majesty. This thing could crush boulders in its jaws no problem, and judging by its thick plating, could also take and dish out some serious damage.  
  
The particle barrier dissolved away from him, and he rested his hand against the Lion's leg, shivering at the cool metal under his pads. A vision of Voltron, he assumed, flashed through his head, colors he'd never seen before and the roar of a lion, and a large castle he faintly recognised despite never having seen it before.

The Lion, no, rather _he_ , dipped his head down and nudged the young half breed with his muzzle.  
  
_"It is good to see you, my Paladin."_

* * *

"You _found_ a Lion of _Voltron_?!" Shay gasped, shaking Hunk by his shoulders.  
  
"Shay! Shh! Not so loud!" Hunk hissed, glancing around to make sure none of the Galra had heard.  
  
Rax looked highly unimpressed, folding his arms over his chest. "Everyone knows Voltron is just a myth, a kids tale. Even if you did find one, why didn't you tell the Galra?"  
  
"Rax! If it's Voltron, we'd be saved! If we gave the Lion to the Galra, they'd just try to use it against us, or worse. Use it to hurt other planets." Shay said, turning to her brother.  
  
"It called me its Paladin. I think that means I can pilot it. Maybe I can go find the rest of Voltron and bring them back here, free the rest of you." Hunk added, eyes focused on Rax's own pupiless ones.  
  
Rax only sighed. "This tale of yours will only get us all in trouble. Better just to give the Galra what they want and suffer less than getting tortured for withholding this from them."  
  
"Brother, don't you want to be free?" Shay asked, sadness flickering over her face.  
  
"Of course I do! But I've accepted that as a dream, never a reality. The Galra will never let us go until they've mined out every last crystal from here and let us die with the Balmera. _I_ don't want to die trapped in a cell being tortured for information!" Rax snapped, causing his sister and best friend to flinch away.  
  
"If you two are serious about this, about using the Lion to escape, then I won't hesitate to report you two to the Galra." He continued in a low voice, eyes narrowed.  
  
He left them behind, shell shocked.  
  
"Oh Rax..." Shay murmured, Hunk sighing with her.  
  
"If that's the case, I'll need to pack immediately and leave as soon as possible." Hunk stated, shoulders set.  
  
Shay smiled sadly at him. "I can help with that. I'm in charge of food supplies for the next few cycles."  
  
It took several tries, and a bit of help from a few of the more rebellious Balmerans, to get enough food to the Yellow Lion without being noticed.  
  
It was late cycle when Hunk was deemed ready to leave.  
  
"You sure about this?" Shay asked, resting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I want to change my mind, because this just doesn't feel right to me. Lately though, I've been thinking. I want to see you happier. I want to raise your spirits, I want to see you smile, but I know that means I'll have to leave." Hunk stated, determination in his eyes.  
  
"Okay. We'll all wait for you, no matter how long it takes." Shay said, brightening. She untied the orange ribbon around her arm and reached up to tie it around Hunk's head. "As a reminder of your promise, okay?"  
  
A loud shout echoed behind them, startling them both, and Rax suddenly entered the tunnel. Galran soldiers followed in behind him.  
  
"I warned you. I didn't want to do this, but it's better for everyone if we just give them what they want." He said with a sigh.  
  
"Rax, _no_." Shay whispered, horrified.  
  
The Galra took aim. "Step away from the robot!" One ordered, and Hunk instictively took a step back.  
  
They opened fire.  
  
But the Yellow Lion had been growling this whole time, and dipped his head down, scooping Hunk up into his cockpit and bouncing forwards, knocking down everyone in his way, protecting Shay from the beams.  
  
"Go! That way! _Go up!_ " Shay shouted, a soldier tackling her and binding her up in a sickly purple rope.  
  
Hunk scrambled for the controls, a solid presence guiding him on what to do.  
  
He gunned the engine, the, no, _his_ Lion, roaring and shouldering his way through the tunnels until they found a drop off well that led to the surface. They flew upwards, Hunk trying not to heave his stomach out of his mouth, and broke into the sky.  
  
Hunk gasped. He'd never seen the surface before, never seen the sky before, and while it was all so shiny and _new_ , a bunch of Galran ships had targeted him and were swooping in to attack.  
  
Hunk shrieked, Yellow snarled, and they began evasive manuvers. Hunk steered the Lion as best he could, that ever solid presence guiding him until he thought enough was enough, and brought up the blasters.  
  
"Okay, let's see what this baby can do!" Hunk said, terrified out of his mind but determined to get out of this death trap planet.  
  
He shot several ships down, and discovered the wonderful feeling that was ramming into a mining tower and bending it practically in half. But there were too many for him to deal with on his own, even in the Yellow Lion, and he had to escape before they could call in backup.  
  
"I'll be back, Shay. I _promise_ , I'll come back for everyone." He said, reaching up to touch his new orange headband.  
  
Yellow purred in agreement, and pulled a bit of power from the crystal necklace Hunk always wore, and opened a wormhole.  
  
Lion and pilot warped through, not knowing where they were going but planning on finding help for Hunk's trapped family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can tell me where the song lyrics are and what song it is, i'll give you a free snippet of the next chapter lol.


End file.
